"Are you... Ayanokoji and Chiba?"
Following the sound, Chiba Yu saw two girls standing in front of the counter where he had just bought something.
"Classmate Karuizawa, and... Classmate Matsushita?"
Two pretty young girls had greeted them and even called them by name. It was only right to respond.
"Huh?" Matsushita covered her mouth, looking a little surprised. "I didn't expect you to remember our names, Chiba."
Chiba Yu tilted his head in puzzlement at Matsushita's remark. "Is that strange?"
"Not really," Matsushita explained. "It's just that when everyone was introducing themselves, I saw you staring out the door as if you were daydreaming, so I figured you hadn't been paying attention."
Hearing Matsushita's explanation, I couldn't help sighing inwardly. Then I composed myself and asked, "Are you two here to buy household supplies too?"
Neither girl seemed to mind that I'd changed the subject.
"Yeah. The dorm rooms don't have anything besides the beds and stuff."
Just then, Matsushita noticed the baskets in Chiba Yu and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's hands. She couldn't help taking a closer look, then wore a slightly stunned expression as she asked, "Chiba and Ayanokoji, are you two... really that frugal?"
Perhaps because she'd noticed we'd picked out nothing but cheap stuff, even Karuizawa took a few extra glances.
Chiba Yu casually replied, "Maybe it's because of the way I used to live." As he spoke, he glanced toward Ayanokoji.
Ayanokoji understood what Chiba Yu meant. Without saying anything, he nodded in agreement.
"I see... Then..."
"Come on, Matsushita. Let's get going too. We still have a lot to buy."
Only then did Chiba Yu notice that Karuizawa Kei, who'd been standing beside Matsushita the whole time, seemed to have grown impatient. More than that, he could even make out a hint of... dislike in her expression.
So that was it... He had a pretty good idea.
"Then we'll leave it here. We still have a lot to buy too, so we'll get going."
"I see. We won't keep you, then."
After making up some excuse, Chiba Yu led Ayanokoji Kiyotaka away first. Fortunately, Ayanokoji was good at reading the room and followed right behind him.
Before leaving, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka glanced discreetly at Karuizawa Kei. Seeing the impatience written all over her face, he didn't linger.
"Um, those two..."
"It's nothing. They're just classmates. And since she clearly doesn't like us, there's no need to hang around and risk making her even more annoyed."
While paying, Chiba Yu answered Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's question. Ayanokoji didn't say anything more.
After that, the two went to a toiletries shop to pick up some shampoo and other things.
As they were choosing their products, once again, 'trouble' came looking for them.
"Quite an annoying coincidence, isn't it?"
Indeed, however you looked at it, it was an extremely irritating coincidence for Chiba Yu, who just wanted to shop in peace.
Horikita Suzune was the person Chiba Yu least wanted to get involved with so far. Anything to do with her meant trouble, but there was no way he'd let that show on his face.
"Hello, I'm Chiba Yu. Nice to meet you," Chiba Yu greeted her first.
But Horikita only glanced at him before immediately looking away.
"I'm Ayanokoji Kiyotaka. We'll be desk mates from now on, so I hope we get along. And you?" Ayanokoji Kiyotaka introduced himself next.
Clearly, Horikita Suzune had no interest in talking to them. She simply continued choosing her things.
Seeing this, Ayanokoji calmly continued, "It wouldn't hurt to tell us your name, would it?"
Horikita ignored him and glanced at Chiba Yu, who was standing beside Ayanokoji Kiyotaka. "Then I suppose there's no harm in refusing, is there? By the way, is he your new friend?"
Hearing that, Ayanokoji sneaked a glance at Chiba Yu, wanting to explain, but Chiba Yu cut him off.
"We're in neighboring dorm rooms. At this point, I guess you could say we're friends, right, Ayanokoji?"
"...Yeah." Ayanokoji Kiyotaka paused, caught off guard by Chiba Yu's words, then confirmed it.
"..." Horikita Suzune looked at the two of them calmly, then turned back and spoke in a quiet voice. "Horikita Suzune. That's my name."
After that, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka recommended some toiletries that worked well but cost a little more. Horikita Suzune turned them down immediately.
Chiba Yu had no intention of butting in. Horikita hadn't been put through the wringer yet, and she was far too arrogant. Chiba Yu wasn't good at dealing with people like that.
As he took his time picking out what he needed, a shout from outside the convenience store suddenly caught his attention.
"Don't underestimate me!"
"Heh. You're from Class D, aren't you?"
"So what if I am?!"
The sound of a heated argument reached Chiba Yu's ears. He slowly turned and looked toward the convenience store entrance.
A redhead was facing off against three students. Even though he was outnumbered, he wasn't backing down. If anything, he was still picking a fight.
Chiba Yu could more or less tell what was going on, but he didn't react. He only sighed helplessly.
"With Class D the way it is now, it'd be stranger if we didn't end up with zero points next month."
"Um... isn't he in our class?"
Ayanokoji and Horikita had finished picking out what they wanted and were about to head to the counter to pay. Seeing us there, they asked.
"Getting involved with someone like that would tarnish my reputation," Horikita Suzune said without holding back.
I only shrugged, showing that it had nothing to do with us and that I wasn't going to get involved.
Finally, after all four people outside had left, Chiba Yu took the items he'd paid for and went outside with Ayanokoji.
The two stopped in unison at the sight of trash scattered all over the entrance and a garbage can lying on its side.
Gradually, with Chiba Yu watching, Ayanokoji walked over to the garbage can and righted the one Sudo had kicked over.
Seeing that, Chiba Yu had no reason not to help. After all, his whole persona was that of a slacker; a little act of kindness was fine if no one saw it, but if it happened right in front of him, there was no reason to ignore it.
As he helped pick up the trash, Chiba Yu casually asked, "Tell me, Ayanokoji. Do you really think the school is generous enough to hand us a hundred thousand points every month like this?"